Philly Pirate Fined $10,000

The FCC reaffirmed a $10,000 penalty against Michael Stone Campbell for operating an unlicensed radio station at 97.7 MHz in Philadelphia. He had appealed to a U.S. senator for help.

The commission originally issued a notice of apparent liability to Campbell in 2007. The commission said in its decision that Campbell did not respond to the NAL, but rather he wrote to Sen. Arlen Specter and the response was forwarded to the FCC in December.

In the letter to Specter, Campbell said he began broadcasting on 97.7 FM in 1994 and that the FCC lost his application for a construction permit.

The commission said Campbell didn’t provide evidence of submitting a CP application and even so, “the mere filing of an application would not have provided Campbell any authority to operate a radio station.”